Contrary to news media reports that say the spacecraft is as large as a school bus weighing up to 20,000 pounds, the failed satellite, they say, is actually one of the smallest launched in the last several years by the NRO, and is nowhere near that size.

It was a target of opportunity to test ASAT response, however, even if the official hydrazine story seemed as fatally flawed as the rumored [Boeing $1.5B imaging spacecraft]. Russia, China and India’s response may be forthcoming — and just as dismissive.

AMC-14 is an advanced, high-powered Ku-band television satellite, designed for multiple missions to operate across the orbital arc from 61 to 119 degrees West. As the third satellite dedicated to AMERICOM2Home, an IPTV backbone service, the spacecraft has been optimized to provide Direct-to-Home video services.

After the launch, SES AMERICOM will complete the testing of all spacecraft systems and ready the satellite for continental U.S. service from 61.5 degrees West by EchoStar.

In other satellite news, a variety of satellite phone providers are due to launch new platforms soon that will feature terrestrial repeaters for service that more closely approximates cellular, providing low-cost service with inexpensive handsets.

In the United States, six satellite phone providers may soon be competing:

Both ICO and TerreStar have 20 MHz each in the MSS band (2.0/2.1 GHz). They’ll deliver spotbeam satphone services from geosynchronous space, but will suppliment the space connection with terrestrial repeaters which allow small, inexpensive handsets to be used.

Satphone providers Inmarsat and MSV are also launching satphone services from GEO orbit in the “L” band. The “L” band is centered around 1.6 GHz.

Inmarsat 4 will be launched March-April 2008, and positioned over the Pacific. That makes it handy for tiny BGAN terminals on the West Coast, that can plug into regular landline phones or laptops for 400Kbps service.

MSV-1 and MSV-2 are also sharing the 1.6ghz “L” band over the United States and Canada. They will provide a spotbeam satphone platform in GEO space, planned for 2010. MSV, like Terrestar and ICO in the 2GHz MSS band, will use terrestrial repeaters.

Meanwhile, in the Low Earth Orbit, Iridium and GlobalStar are battling it out for traditional LEO satphone service.

Some observers believe six satphone competitors would be untenable.

Instead of six providers, they envision three or four. Economics and logistics, they say, will force “MSS band” providers ICO and Terrestar to merge. Likewise “L Band” providers Inmarsat and MSV could merge and LEO providers Iridium and GlobalStar could merge.

More bandwidth at less cost — what’s not to like. Perhaps an AWS band partner — like T-Mobile — would make a good partner, too.